One of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" (Rue Morgue # 68), "an accomplished film journalist" (Comic Buyer's Guide #1535), and the award-winning author of Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002), John Kenneth Muir, presents his blog on film, television and nostalgia, named one of the Top 100 Film Studies Blog on the Net.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Ask JKM a Question: Movies about Movies?

A
regular reader, Chuck, writes:

“Dear
John,

Recently, I have noticed a trend in documentary film making that I
want to call the “movie-about-a-movie.”

In
other words, there are quite a lot of film makers who seem interested in
documenting the history of a particular film or franchise.

For
example,The Death of
"Superman Lives": What Happened?(2015) is about a movie
which, in this case, was never actually made.

Back in Time(2015), on the other hand, goes into the history of theBack to the Future franchise.
And while it may be a bit dated, I feel compelled to mention the HBO original
filmRKO 281(1999), which was itself based on the
documentaryThe Battle Over
Citizen Kane(1995)—in
effect,a
movie-about-a-movie-about-a-movie!

Anyway,
my question is really two-fold:

First, are there any planned productions of a so-called
movie-about-a-movie you are looking forward to (I do hope Doomed: The
Untold Story of Roger Corman’s “The Fantastic Four”makes your list)?

Second (and perhaps more importantly), what particular film or
franchise you would like see get the movie-about-a-movie treatment?

As
always, thanks again for all the outstanding work you do on your blog!”

Chuck,
thank you for the kind words about the blog. I always enjoy hearing from you,
as well as the questions that you pose.

I
also find these “movies about a movie” fascinating.

I recently watched Electric
Bugaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, and thought it was terrific. It was informative, funny, and even generated
a real sense of nostalgia for a bygone era in film history. I would give it my highest recommendation.

Some
time back, I also enjoyed Best Worst Movie (2009) -- about Troll
2 -- which I reviewed here.

Frankly -- and perhaps selfishly -- I’ve always
wished someone would make a dramatic movie, like RK0 281, out of my book, The Unseen
Force (2004), which concerns, in part the making of Sam Raimi’s The
Evil Dead (1983). There are so
many fascinating characters, stories and events that go into the making of that
film. I think it would make an inspirational and very funny movie.

I too have been
intrigued by Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four for a good long time, and I’m definitely
looking forward to that documentary!

What other
ones would I like to see?

It’s not exactly a movie but I would absolutely
love a documentary about the behind-the-scenes making of the 1973 science
fiction series, The Starlost.

That
series started as a great concept from Harlan Ellison, and had the input of
artists like Douglas Trumball, Keir Dullea, and Ben Bova, to start. And then, things took a dramatic turn. It’s a fascinating tale, and all the
participants are still around, to appear in a documentary.

What other
movies? Well, two of the most fascinating John Carpenter movies of the 1980s
are eminently worthy of feature length documentaries: Prince of Darkness (1987)
and They
Live (1988).

I also feel that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) deserves a full-on, feature-length documentary (perhaps directed by William Shatner himself). After all, it is the Star Trek film with the most unrealized potential, I feel. We've seen footage of the failed Rock Man, and so on, but the great story there is about how William Shatner's serious tale about a fake religious messiah became a (not-so...) crowd-pleasing attempt at comedy, and how he had to keep compromising his vision, in large part because of the success of The Voyage Home (1986).

The idea for a Star Trek V documentary is intriguing. I remember reading the "making of" book that Shatner's daughter wrote. I'm sure when the book was conceived, it was intended to be a fluff promotional piece about what was sure to be a big hit movie. Instead, it inadvertently turned into a Hollywood tale of political compromises that ruined the script, a director with no experience at directing a feature film, and special effects that were lackluster due to budget constraints, lack of resources, and limited by the pre-CGI era.

I would love a documentary not about a film but about a film-maker. Ever since I read Cinefex's issue about Willis O'Brien, I thought it would make a fantastic film biography. He was a self-taught animator, was involved in essentially a shot-gun wedding with a woman who was unstable, fell out of favor in Hollywood but became a mentor and hero to a generation of stop motion animators and special effects artists.

I would REALLY love to see a documentary about the period between The Animated Series and The Motion Picture. I know this has been covered in print but there seems to be so much that has not been seen (including the test footage on the Phase II sets that appear on the TMP Special Edition DVD as well as the Season 2 BluRay of The Next Generation. This documentary could also cover the unsold pilots Gene Roddenberry made during this time, from Genesis II to Spectre to the unmade Trek films.

About John

award-winning author of 27 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).

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What the Critics Say...

"...some of the best writing about the genre has been done by John Kenneth Muir. I am particularly grateful to him for the time and attention he's paid to things others have overlooked, under-appreciated and often written off. His is a fan's perspective first, but with a critic's eye to theme and underscore, to influence and pastiche..." - Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, in the foreword to Horror Films FAQ (October 2013).

"Hands down, John Kenneth Muir is one of the finest critics and writers working today. His deep analysis of contemporary American culture is always illuminating and insightful. John's film writing and criticism is outstanding and a great place to start for any budding writer, but one should also examine his work on comic books, TV, and music. His weighty catalog of books and essays combined with his significant blog production places him at the top of pop culture writers. Johns work is essential in understanding the centrality of culture in modern society." - Professor Bob Batchelor, cultural historian and Executive Director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College (2014).

"...an independent film scholar, [Muir] explains film studies concepts in a language that is reader-friendly and engaging..." (The Hindu, 2007)"...Muir's genius lies in his giving context to the films..." (Choice, 2007)